Luke's Friend( Toddler Time sequel)
by Mystic Lover of the fairytale
Summary: Four year old Luke makes a new friend no one can see, is Ann just an innocent imaginery friend or something much more sinister.
1. Chapter 1

# Toddler Time #

**A/N: I own no one.**

* * *

Monday morning, and Luke was up earlier than normal.

He was excited, he was starting Reception today. The kitchen was empty, but that was okay, he knew how to get his own breakfast. Dragging a chair over to the cabinet where the cereal was kept, he pulled down a box of "Fruity O's". He didn't bother with a spoon or bowl just dug in with his hands. The light turned on.

"I made my breakfast, Mummy," Luke addressed the woman in the doorway.

Sarah Jane had heard Luke get up and had gone downstairs, it was only four in the morning, although she could hardly blame him. He was starting school for the second time ('though he thought it was his first), and he was bound to be excited.

She looked at the dark-haired little boy sitting on the counter clad in a dark blue footed sleeper with a space theme. He wasn't supposed to be this age or starting Reception, he was supposed to be off to Uni with his friends Clyde Langer and Rani Chandra, he was supposed to be starting his life on his own for the first time at the appearance age of 18, but an alien parasite two years ago had de-aged him from a teenager to a toddler.

Sarah Jane, who had no experience with small children, had to get used to a child who, on the one hand, was smarter than the average toddler, but could still throw a tantrum if he was tired.

Even before the de-aging, Luke was not your average teenager. He wasn't born, for one thing, but created from 10,000 humans, a genetically engineered child with the physical appearance of a 13 year old. Ironically, he now looked his real age.

The only people who knew the truth were Rani and Clyde, Maria, their former neighbor, and her Dad, Alan Jack, and a few trusted old members of UNIT. Everyone else, including Rani's parents and Clyde's Mum, had forgotten that Luke had been a teenager. Jack and his team had retconned them.

"It's far too early to be up," Sarah Jane said, lifting him off the counter. Luke frowned, it didn't feel early. Besides, he was too excited to sleep.

"Don't wanna go back to bed," he pouted a little.

"I'll put a DVD on," she said.

Luke nodded, settling down on the couch with his bear and blanket as Sarah Jane stuck an educational kid's DVD in the machine. She turned on her laptop, figuring she might as well get a bit of work done. It was going to be a long morning, she was sure.

* * *

Sarah Jane was surprised at how quickly Luke had gone from excited about starting Reception to absolutely refusing to go.

"Don't wanna go!" he clung to her neck. She sighed; nothing she said or did seemed to make any difference. They were in the middle of the corridor, and people were staring, kids openly, the parents more discreet, but still you could tell.

"Luke, you were excited this morning and all of last week, you'll make new friends and learn new things," Sarah Jane said.

"Like what?" Luke asked.

"Um, loads of things, like counting, and your alphabet. .." her voice trailed off because Luke already could read and do math, that was way beyond advanced. She wasn't sending him to Reception for the learning part, but for the social part. He needed friends his own age.

"We'll get McDonald's for tea," she said biting back a exasperated groan. She was turning into a parent that bribed their kid.

"Ice cream too?" Luke asked, "and we could go to the playground?"

Sarah Jane sighed. "Yes," she said.

* * *

Miss Sharpe clapped her hands together. "Okay, children, it's circle time, put what you are doing away."

Several minutes later, twenty children were seated on the carpet. Luke counted; there were nine boys and eleven girls. Sharpe beckoned him forward.

"We have a new friend joining us, this is Luke," she said. "Why don't you sit on the blue square?" she held up a book. "This is _The Hungry Caterpillar._"

"I read that book!" Luke shouted excitedly.

"You mean your Mummy read it." Mrs. Sharpe said, misunderstanding.

"No,I read it by myself," Luke said.

"You know how to read?" Miss Sharpe asked, as the other kids started asking questions, like could he read really hard books, or books without pictures.

Suddenly, a small bell began to ring.

"Outside time, I think," she turned to her aide, "May, could you line everyone up, please?"

* * *

"Hello."

A dark haired girl sat down next to Luke in the sandbox. She was wearing a red dress, white tights, and Mary Janes. "I'm Anne, do you want to be friends?" she asked.

"Okay," Luke beamed.

"I never had a proper friend before, you promise to be my friend forever?" Anne asked, pleaded, really. Luke nodded in agreement. Little did he know that if anyone looked over at the sandbox, they wouldn't see two children, but just one.

* * *

"I made a new friend, Mummy," Luke said excitedly.

"Did you, really? That's wonderful, love," Sarah Jane said, buckling him into his car seat.

"Her name's Anne," Luke said.

"Do you like school, then?" Sarah Jane asked.

"Yep, I do," Luke said.

Later that evening, Luke was playing in his room, when Anne showed up rather suddenly.

"Hello," he said.

"Hi." she sat on his bed. "Are these your toys?" she asked.

"Don't you have toys?" Luke asked.

"No," Anne sighed.

"I don't have any girl toys, but you could have a toy if you want." Luke offered.

* * *

Sarah Jane was passing by Luke's room when she heard Luke talking. It sounded as if he were having a conversation with someone.

"Luke, who are you talking to?" She asked, coming into his room.

"My friend, Mummy. Her name is Anne," Luke said.

Sarah Jane looked around the room, but there was no one else about.

"I see, and where is Anne?" she asked.

"On my bed," Luke said, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

"Oh, I see," Sarah Jane said, humoring him. He was probably playing a game, she had read that children at this age had imaginary friends. She figured it was an innocent, harmless pasttime.

* * *

**A/N:Taking a break from Travels Again.**


	2. Chapter 2

_**Hiya, Scarlet here, this is my chapter, hope you enjoy it! :)**_

* * *

Luke sat on the swings, the metallic chains securing the seat to the top of the structure. He listened to the rhythmic 'creak creak' it made as he swung gingerly back and forth. The wind was the only thing pushing him; it'd been a struggle to get up on the seat in the first place, as it was much too high for him.

"You don't have wings," Ann said. Luke turned his head to look at her; she was wearing identical clothes to the ones she'd worn the other day. Her leg was casually kicked over the other as she swung on the swing.

"I know," Luke said, turning his attention back to the ground. "Nobody has wings."

Ann smiled. "I was just wondering how someone with no wings could climb that high up. It's a big swing."

"Yep," Luke agreed. "Will you push me?"

Ann suddenly looked nervous. "No."

"Okay," Luke said, looking at the ground, a bit sad. Staring at the ground moving made him feel dizzy, and he carefully clambered off the swing.

"Let's go over here," Ann suggested, and Luke trailed after her clumsily as she made her way over to the bushes. "Hey, look at that."

"Look at what?" Luke asked, confused.

Ann groaned, pointing under the bushes, "down there, do you see it?"

Luke got down on his knees to see where she was pointing. His eyes widened in surprise and shock. "It's a turtle!"

"Tortoise, turtles are water animals," Ann corrected.

Luke gingerly picked up the creature, frowning at it. "What is it doing over here?"

Ann shrugged. "Sometimes they run away from the pet stores."

Luke nodded. "What should we do with it?"

Ann peered over the bush. "It's fenced inside the school, we can take it to Miss Sharpe. Do you want to give it a name?" Ann asked.

"Okay," Luke said.

"How about... Mary?" Ann asked.

"Why a girl name?" Luke inquired, confused.

Ann shrugged. "It looks like a girl."

"What if- what if it's a boy?" Luke tried, drawling his words slightly.

"Maybe Alex," Ann said. "I have a friend who's named Alex and she's a girl. Alex is also a boy name, I think."

Luke nodded eagerly. "Okay."

Suddenly, Ann looked up. "I have to go. Bye."

"Bye, bye," Luke waved, watching Ann skip off.

He waited for her to leave, then walked over to Miss Sharpe.

She looked at the tortoise in surprise. "Luke, where did you find a turtle?" she asked gently.

"It's a tortoise, it's name is Alex," Luke announced proudly. "Can we keep it?"

Miss Sharpe smiled. "I do have an old tank, and it's very small, it should fit."

Luke beamed back at her and they went into the classroom, towards a small lab area. A small rat lay in one of the tanks, Luke recognised her as 'Sandy', the class pet. Miss Sharpe took Alex from him, and placed him in one of the tanks with gravel filling on the bottom.

Luke watched Alex walk around in the tank for a while, until Miss Sharpe told him they had to go outside so she could keep an eye on the other children.

Luke returned to the sandbox, digging up little ruts in the sand. He let his thoughts drift to his friend.

Ann was confusing, he decided. She couldn't decide where she wanted to be, she always had to go. Shrugging it off, he walked back to the sandbox, digging his fingers into the golden stuff absentmindedly, so he did not notice when James approached him.

James was another one of the students, except he was older. He had bright blonde hair and blue eyes, wearing a striped red and blue shirt.

"Hi James," Luke mumbled, playing with the sand. He didn't like the older boy, he was the son of one of Sarah Jane's friends but they'd never got on well.

"You're a liar," James blurted. "You can't read books."

Luke looked up at him. "What do you mean?"

"You're too little," James said. "You can't read," he repeated.

"I can, I can prove it," Luke said, frowning.

"Meh," James mumbled, kicking at the sand. "I don't wanna waste my time on you."

Luke's brow furrowed even deeper as he watched the older student walk away from him. Focusing his attention back on the sandbox, he traced small circles into the ground with his fingers, tapping on the grooves they made.

* * *

"Hey, Mummy, how come James doesn't think I can read?" Luke asked.

Sarah Jane sighed. "Oh, you're very clever, Luke. More so than the other students. He might be jealous. But for now, you mightn't want to tell people about... you."

"How come?"

Sarah Jane struggled with words. "It's like... Superman. He's special, but he can't tell anyone because they aren't ready."

Luke's face was the absolute definition of confusion. "So I'm like Superman, I can't tell anybody I can read."

"Not yet, but eventually you can," Sarah Jane promised.

Luke nodded. "Okay."

He began to tell her the day's events, starting with Alex and how he and Ann had found the tortoise.

Sarah Jane listened as he talked. "Luke, do you have any friends other than Ann?" she wondered.

Luke's head bobbed in agreement. "Yep, there's Alex," he said.

Sarah Jane sighed. She wished Luke would find some real friends, that had been the main goal of sending him to Reception. Still, there was a lot of time he had to meet some new children, maybe her attempts wouldn't be wasted at all.


	3. Chapter 3

# Toddler time 3 #

* * *

It had been two weeks since Luke started Reception and in those two weeks, he hadn't made one visible friend that anyone could see. The other kids weren't exactly mean to him, they just ignored him. He didn't notice though, during free time he was usually in the reading corner buried in a book. Once or twice Miss Sharpe or the aide tried to convince him to play in the other stations. Ann was always with him outside.

"You don't have any friends, 'cause everyone thinks you're weird," James taunted, following him around the playground.

Luke frowned. "I have friends, Ann and Alex," he said, heading over to the jungle gym.

James laughed cruelly. "Alex is a stupid turtle and there's no such person as Ann. You don't have any real friends."

"Ann is real, she's next to me," he gestured next to him. To his surprise, James screamed with laughter.

"You're crazy, crazy, crazy!" he sang, jumping up and down and pointing at him.

"He's not crazy, you stupid little boy," Ann growled, but only Luke heard her.

Ann reached out, pushing James off the structure. Luke's eyes widened in horror as James fell and landed on the sand. He started howling, drawing the attention of the other kids and Mrs. Sharpe.

Luke turned to Ann. "Why did you push him?" he asked.

"He deserved it," Ann said coldly. Luke shivered at her intense glare. He slowly came down from wooden structure.

Mrs. Sharpe turned to him. "James said you pushed him, is this true?" She asked.

Luke shook his head. "I didn't do it, Ann pushed him 'cause he was calling me crazy."

Mrs. Sharpe looked at him. "Luke, there's no Ann in our class, you two were the only two up there. Lying isn't nice and you hurt your friend, that wasn't very nice either, so I think for the rest of the day, you won't be able to have play time or free time inside either."

Luke started crying. It wasn't fair, he hadn't lied. Ann had pushed him, and James didn't even get punished for teasing him.

* * *

James made it a point to rub Luke's punishment in his face. He'd pass by the table Luke was sitting at, waving a toy back and forth in front of his face, knowing that if he reached out and grabbed it, he would get in more trouble.

"Stop it." Luke said, trying to ignore him. He got up, wandering over to the tank in the back of the room, James following him.

"I'm telling, you got up! Teacher! Luke got up, he's not supposed to get up!" James shouted.

Mrs. Sharpe rolled her eyes, "James, you are not the teacher, I am. Go play."

Luke turned to her. "You didn't say I couldn't get up," he pointed out.

Mrs. Sharpe had to admit he did have a point, she never actually told him he had to stay seated at the table, she had only said he lost "Free Time". As long as he wasn't playing at the different stations, he technically wasn't breaking the rules.

Mrs. Sharpe never had a student quite like Luke, he wasn't like her other students, he was different, sometimes he seemed too smart for being four.

But he wasn't socializing or interacting with the other kids, she figured a talk with his mother was in order.

* * *

Mrs. Sharpe smiled at the older woman seated across from her hoping to put her at ease, 'though she didn't seem uneasy. She was older than most of her students' parents, in her mid fifties, but still striking looking.

"Mrs. Smith," she began.

"It's Ms. Smith, actually," the woman corrected.

Mrs. Sharpe nodded. "I'm a little worried about Luke. In the two weeks since he's started, he hasn't made one friend, and just today he pushed another kid off the jungle gym and denied it when I asked, claiming someone named Ann did it."

"I'm sure it's nothing, but I'll speak to him tonight, he's not like most kids," Sarah Jane said, trying not to get into much detail. Luckily, Mrs. Sharpe seemed to accept that. "He really is a good boy," Sarah Jane said, standing up and heading out.

*line break*

Sarah Jane waited until Luke was nearly done with his tea before asking about Ann.

"Luke, tell me about Ann," she asked.

Luke frowned slightly. "Why do you want to know?" he asked curiously.

"Interested, is she big or little?" Sarah Jane asked.

"Bigger than me." Luke said, the only thing he knew about Ann was that she was nine, she liked chocolate, and she liked red. "She's nine."

Sarah Jane pressed Luke for more information, but he couldn't tell her anything else.

"Okay, if you're finished, go get ready for your bath. Don't forget, Rani is babysitting you tonight," Sarah Jane said.

Luke nodded, heading out of the kitchen, he turned back around. "Mummy, am I crazy?" he asked.

"'Course not, who said you were?" Sarah Jane asked.

"James, he said Ann wasn't there, and I was crazy," Luke said.

"Well, you aren't, James was just being horrible. Now, upstairs, and in the bath," Sarah Jane told him.

* * *

The only sound in the bathroom was the steady lapping of the water against the sides of the bathtub and the drip of the faucet.

Suddenly, some unseen force pulled Luke under the water and held him down. He screamed, getting a mouthful of soap and water. His lungs started burning as he struggled to break free, the bathroom started going dark. Just as he was about to lose consciousness, he felt cool air, then a warm towel wrapped around his shivering form.

Rani was holding him in her lap, her sleeves were wet. "It's okay, you're okay," she chanted, over and over.

She stood up, Luke still in her arms, and headed to his bedroom, pulling out his warmest pyjamas and helping him get dressed. When he was dressed, she finished drying his hair. Rani waited until Luke was calm enough before asking what happened in the bath.

"Dunno," Luke said thumb in his mouth. Rani didn't want to press the matter, she held out her hand with the offer of popcorn and a video, "and hot chocolate," she added, smiling as his eyes lit up.

* * *

Halfway through the movie, Luke fell asleep. Rani watched him. Sometimes it was weird having Luke this age. She couldn't tell her other friends one of her best friends was only four; he was the baby of the group, 'though Rani had to admit Luke had always technically been the baby of their little group. Maybe not mature, wise in some respects, (because as he got older he seemed a bit more sure of what was acceptable and what wasn't in social terms), but there was always that innocent uncertainty the first time he held her hand. It wasn't like when Clyde held her hand, that shivers up and down her spine like an electrifying feeling, but for Luke it was like holding the hand of a little brother. She knew that Clyde thought of Luke as a brother and his prodigy.

* * *

Ann reached into the tank, pulling the tortoise out. In one swift motion, she snapped it's neck. She giggled madly, glee filling her eyes. Hurting people was fun, she especially loved if they were sad or scared. The only reason she attached herself to Luke was because he seemed to be the most interesting, full of untapped emotions. She also knew there was more to him than met the eye.

* * *

**A/N: Yes Ann is showing her true nature** **A/N 2: It occured to me that Luke could technically be considered the baby of the group since he technically is the youngest**


	4. Chapter 4

Luke was nose-deep into a book, his face buried behind the large, leathery pages. He frowned at the words too long to understand, nearly scoffing at the simple way some things were worded.

He could read. He knew he wasn't supposed to tell a lot of people that, but he could read. He wasn't crazy, and Ann was real.

Those words repeated themselves in his head, over and over, a mantra of reminders. He wasn't going to listen to what anyone else said, because he knew he was right and that was all that mattered.

He turned a page in the book, squirming in his seat. Bored, he placed the book on the floor and glanced at the clock. Usually, he was the first kid to get to Reception, which meant he had plenty of free time in the mornings.

Reading was boring, so he decided to give Alex a visit. He pushed himself off the floor, and stumbled over to where the tanks were. He frowned, Alex seemed to be missing.

"Miss Sharpe?"

The teacher looked up from some sort of manilla folder with many papers in it. "Yes, Luke?"

Luke frowned. "Where is Alex?"

"In his tank," Miss Sharpe said, smiling and glancing down at her papers. Luke's brow furrowed further.

"But Alex is gone," Luke said. Miss Sharpe looked up, in surprise.

"What do you mean?"

Luke jabbed a finger towards the tank. "Alex is gone," he repeated.

Miss Sharpe approached the tank, staring into the empty container in surprise. The shelf was much too high for Luke or any of the other students to reach. There was a small stool under the science table, but, even then, there was no way any of the students there could have taken the creature out of the tank.

"Did..."

She'd remembered to lock up last night, she was certain. Besides, what robber would break into a classroom to steal a pet?

"Give me a minute," she said, smiling at Luke reassuringly. He just frowned.

"How come you're smiling, Alex is gone," he mumbled.

"It'll be all right, I just need to check something," Miss Sharpe said, running outside.

She was right; there was a CCTV camera in the area, no robber would've bothered to risk arrest for the sake of stealing a classroom tortoise.

Then she looked down.

And swallowed.

* * *

"How was school?" Sarah Jane asked, smiling at Luke as he clambered messily into the car. She frowned, he looked upset, like something was wrong.

Luke made a face. "Alex is gone. Miss Sharpe won't tell me why he went away."

Sarah Jane raised an eyebrow, in confusion. "What do you mean?"

"He was gone from the tank," Luke drawled, squirming in the car seat.

She bit her lip.

Strange things were happening, lately. She knew Luke was not the kind of boy to push other children off of the playset. By all means, the other boy had been, to her knowledge, older than him, so it would've been difficult for him to push him off without a struggle in the first place.

Luke had also explained his 'imaginary friend' to be older, a girl named Ann. Sarah Jane wasn't sure what was going on, but it wouldn't hurt to ask Mr. Smith to do a scan for any alien activity around the area. (No matter how paranoid it made her feel.)

* * *

"No traces of alien activity detected," Mr. Smith chirped cheerfully. Sarah Jane sighed and rubbed her forehead with her hand. She'd just sent Luke off to school, and she'd taken the opportunity of his absence to call out the computer.

"Are you sure?" she asked.

Mr. Smith seemed to scoff- lately, he'd seemed to have developed something of an attitude. "Sarah Jane, I have noticed that Luke seems to be considerably anxious lately."

"Thanks!" she snapped. Then sighed. "I just don't know what to do!"

She stared at the oscillating images on the screen, as Mr. Smith pulled up some sort of CCTV file abruptly.

"I have uncovered a CCTV recording of Luke, Sarah Jane," Mr. Smith said.

Sarah Jane frowned, and then nodded, and the supercomputer began to play the CCTV recording. She watched as a fuzzy image of Luke reached out and shoved another student off of the playset.

The video still whirling through her mind, she took a seat on the steps and sighed into he hands. She was just so tired, as of recent, and she didn't know how to help Luke. She didn't even know what was going on, for heaven's sake.

Something just didn't add up.

* * *

"Hello, Sarah Jane," Rani said, smiling. Sarah Jane grinned back, 'though the gesture didn't quite reach her eyes, as she stepped back to allow Rani in. Rani was carrying a full lasagne plate in her hands, tin foil pressed carefully over the top, probably to keep it fresh and the heat in.

"Rani," Sarah Jane mumbled, clicking her tongue disapprovingly.

Rani rolled her eyes. "Don't think it was to be nice. I just made it 'cause I was scared you might burn down the house with your cooking."

Sarah Jane chuckled. "Clyde's rubbing off on you, isn't he?"

Rani giggled. "'S a good thing, 'though. Is Luke home?" she placed the dish on the table, and opened the fridge, moving around items to make the lasagne plate fit.

Sarah Jane shook her head. "No, he's at school."

Rani facepalmed herself with a half-frozen bag of string beans, shoving it back in the fridge. "Oh, that's right, I forgot," she said sheepishly. "Has he been making friends?" she asked, a bit more quiet.

Sarah Jane sighed. "If you count an imaginary girl and a turtle as friends, then yes, I suppose."

"Oh, Sarah Jane," Rani sighed, pushing the lasagne plate into the fridge and closing the door, backing up and looking at the fridge. The white space was covered with child's drawings and alphabet-shaped magnets. "I think he's lonely."

"I think so, too," Sarah Jane agreed. "The whole point of sending him was so he could make friends... I'm beginning to think that I've wasted all this time and energy."

Rani frowned. "Hey, don't say that. I'm sure he'll make friends. He's a good kid."

"What are we going to do when he's a teenager, 'though, Rani? You'll be so much older... every year he grows, you grow too. You're getting more distant from him, I can see it. As hard as we try to pretend it won't happen, it will. I don't know how to tell him, either," Sarah Jane said.

Rani ran her fingers through her hair. "I know. I keep on trying to put it off... what am I gonna say? I mean, I miss him sometimes. It feels like he's died. But I can't even mourn him, because he's alive." She chuckled quietly. "Sorry, that sounded a bit emo for a second there."

Sarah Jane frowned. "No, I think you pinpointed it perfectly. I didn't even realise I felt like that, until..." she shook her head.

Rani's phone buzzed, and her hand dipped into her pocket and she scooped it up. "Sorry, that's my mum. She wants me. I gotta go." she forced a half-smile. "Good luck, Sarah Jane."

Sarah Jane helped her out, watching her run across the street, she sighed.

_I'll need it._


	5. Chapter 5

# Toddler 4 # *Disclaimer* *I do own Ann that's it*

* * *

"Mummy, I'm tired." Luke sank onto the sofa, curling up and closing his eyes.

Sarah Jane had noticed that Luke seemed more tired lately. But if he was getting exhausted at two PM on a Saturday, that was cause for alarm.

She put her laptop aside. If Luke had been a normal child she would have chalked it up to one of the many illnesses young children seemed to pick up, but the de-aging had only changed his physical age. He still had the same perfect immune system he was created with.

"I think we should have scan you," she said.

Luke raised his head slowly, as if that simple gesture was too much effort, which it might as well have been. He didn't want to move, he wasn't just tired he was achy too, like he had the flu, but that was silly. Mummy said he never got sick, even when nearly everyone at Reception got sick with colds and flu. He just didn't get sick. When he'd asked why he didn't get sick, Mum had said she he had a good immune system.

He couldn't be sick, because he didn't get sick.

* * *

Mr. Smith could initially find nothing wrong with Luke. He scanned him three times, but there was no sickness, alien or human. Sarah Jane sighed, looking over at Luke. The normally energetic four year old was lying on the sofa, pale and listless. He couldn't even make it all the way up to the attic, she'd had to carry him. Normally, he was bouncing and running around the house, full of boundless energy.

"Scan him again, Mr. Smith," Sarah Jane insisted.

"Another scan will not change the outcome," Mr. Smith said calmly.

Sarah Jane on the other hand was barely keeping calm, and that was only for Luke's sake. He already seemed scared and her losing it wouldn't help.

She took a deep breath, going over to the sofa and pulling him onto her lap.

"Do you feel tired a lot or just sometimes?"

"After I play with Ann, I get tired," Luke said.

Sarah Jane asked him a few more questions, like was he tired at school or when he was playing with anyone beside Ann. He only said whenever he was around Ann.

"Tell me more about Ann?" Sarah Jane pressed.

"I could see her more, she used to be see through, but she's not that see through anymore," Luke said, half sitting up.

"You mean, she's solid," Sarah Jane said.

Luke nodded. "Mummy, I don't like Ann. She used to be nice, but now she doesn't like when I play with some of the other kids at school."

Ann was starting to scare him with some of her games which she claimed were fun, but were actually very dangerous if he actually did them. Luckily, he never did, and for some reason that seemed to make Ann very angry. She'd disappear and reappear days later, acting as if nothing had happened.

Luke couldn't make Ann go away because he didn't know how to. When he told her he didn't want to play with her anymore at first she just giggled, calling him silly, but when he kept insisting he didn't want her around, she warned him he'd be sorry.

* * *

Rani looked up from her book, glancing over at Luke. He was lying on the couch not playing, not even reading. When Sarah Jane had informed her of his "condition" she really wasn't sure what to expect, but it certainly was not a pale listless child who could barely get up to greet her and could only muster up a tiny smile.

He didn't even want dinner, even though Rani had made his favourite chicken nuggets and curly chips with chocolate ice cream for afters. He barely ate anything.

Around eight Rani decided to put Luke to bed, he didn't even protest when normally he would beg to stay just a bit longer. She always gave in, and she knew those nights Clyde babysat, he did too (though he pretended he was Mr. Firm).

* * *

Despite being tired, Luke wasn't actually sleepy, so he was laying in bed, counting the stars on the ceiling. He had gotten up to two hundred when his eyes started to grow heavy, and he slipped into a dreamless, deep sleep.

Ann slithered along the bedroom floor towards Luke's bed. Gone was the little girl, in her place was a grotesque creature with a body like a snake but with legs like a spider. It's mouth was a row of sharp, gleaming fangs that dripped with acidic saliva. She hovered over Luke, mouth opening slowly, before plunging her fangs right into his arm. She would have bitten longer, but he woke up and started screaming.

"RANIIIII! LET GO!" He scrambled off the bed, trying to get to the door but the monster was faster. She reached out, a hairy spiked claw grabbing his ankle and pulling him back from the door. He kicked out in a blind panic, hoping he hit somewhere vulnerable to the creature. Of course it just enraged the creature, and it bit him again on the arm.

The door crashed open and Rani burst into the room, holding a deadly looking gun.

"Get away from him, alien scum!" Rani shouted, then sobered. "Oh dear lord, Clyde's rubbing off on me," she muttered, as she cocked the gun. "Get away from him."

Ann looked at her, yellow eyes gleaming. "Go ahead, shoot me, sssstupid girl, but I've bitten the child twice. Once more, and he will die."

Rani raised the gun. "Don't push me, but if you leave peacefully, I won't shoot."

Ann laughed a cold, cruel laugh. "Sssssilly little humanssss, always pretending to be so noble."

She bent her head over Luke, mouth open, fangs gleaming, but before she could bite him, Rani shot her and she fell over, before turning back into a little girl then melting away.

Rani had other things to worry about then why the creature had been a child, unless that was Ann. She ran towards Luke, bending over him.

He was curled into a tiny ball, whimpering and gasping in pain. When Rani touched his arm, he flinched violently. She needed help, so she pulled out her mobile.

Twenty minutes later, Clyde had come over. "We should have scan him," he suggested.

Rani was holding Luke. He had slipped into unconsciousness, though he was shaking violently like he was cold, despite being wrapped in a blanket and quilt off his bed.

"Mr. Smith, I need you," Clyde said, as Rani stepped up, holding Luke.

"How may I help you, Clyde?" Mr. Smith asked pleasantly.

"Duh, scan Luke," Clyde said, waving a hand towards Rani and Luke.

They waited with bated breath before Mr. Smith spoke."Luke has been poisoned."

"By what?!" Rani demanded, as Clyde pulled out his mobile, calling Sarah Jane.

"I can not say." Mr. Smith said unhelpfully.

* * *

Sarah Jane rushed upstairs and into the attic, rushing towards the sofa. "What happened?!" she asked bending over Luke. She straightened up, turning towards . "What's wrong with my son?" she asked

"I do not know. He has been poisoned, but it's not in my data banks," Mr. Smith said, infuriatingly calm.

"Check again, Mr. Smith," Sarah Jane ordered.

*line break*

Luke writhed in pain. Sweat plastered his hair to his forehead, and his arm felt like it was on fire.

"Mummy, it hurts! ...It hurts!" he screamed in anguish.

Sarah Jane never liked seeing Luke in pain and she would do anything to stop it if she could, but she couldn't even stop the anguished cries of pain. His arm was swollen and red and Mr. Smith was for some reason unhelpful.

"Isn't there anyone else that could help?" Rani asked.

"What about the Doctor, or that other guy, Jack, he must know about alien diseases and poisons," Clyde said.

Sarah Jane pulled out her mobile. As much as she wanted to call the Doctor, she needed help now, and the Doctor wonderful, though he was wasn't good with time. She dialed Jack's number, and he answered on the first ring.

"Sarah, good to hear from you. Ready for that date?" Jack asked flirtatiously.

Sarah Jane didn't have time for Jack's flirting, and got straight to the point.

Jack turned serious. "We'll be there soon as we can," he promised.

* * *

**Next Scarlett**


	6. Chapter 6

Torchwood arrived within a half an hour, black SUV parked on the curb. The team wasted no time, they simply walked right into the house and straight up to the child lying on the couch.

Owen scanned him while Jack shouted orders, telling Gwen and Ianto to go upstairs and check for alien activity, then send the results to Toshiko back at base.

Jack busied himself, throwing himself into work and scanning Luke. Rani repeatedly tugged at his sleeve, feeling like a neglected 7-year-old craving attention.

"Hey!" she shouted, and he finally turned to look at her.

"Yes?" Jack asked, impatiently. "Do you know what happened, did you see it?"

"I saw it," she snapped. "I saw it, and I know what happened, what's happening now. He-" she jabbed a finger at Luke, "is dying, and you're shouting orders at your team like you're more interested in the alien than him. Sarah Jane asked you over to _help_ him, so you _help_ him."

Jack stood and folded his arms across his chest. "So what did you see?"

Rani began to describe every trait she'd seen of the alien, including how it had bitten Luke. Jack kept a finger on his Bluetooth headset the entire time.

"Did you get that, Tosh?" he asked.

_"I've checked, but it doesn't seem to appear in the species database," _the Bluetooth chirped.

"We're working on it," Jack informed her, before turning back to Luke. Frustrated, Rani stormed over to Sarah Jane.

"Aren't you annoyed at how they're treating this?" she muttered.

"They'll fix him," Sarah Jane said simply. Rani just mumbled something incoherent under her breath and stormed towards the kitchen.

* * *

"Come on, Ianto, let's sort through this mess," Gwen said, glancing around the destroyed room and sighing. There were sure signs of a scuffle- bedsheets strewn all over the place, a few loose posters hanging by the corners and a couple of children's drawings lying on the floor.

"I've checked the attic, and the other rooms. Whatever attacked that boy has obviously scattered," Ianto confirmed, ducking into the room and approaching Gwen by the desk, playing with one of the pinwheels in a pencil cup and giving it a flick. He watched it whirl, amused.

"Stop talking about Luke like he's some sort of a trauma victim," Clyde mumbled. "You barge into the Batcave, disrupt the peace, talk about my best friend like he's liquid in a test tube, and don't even bat an eyelid. Who even does that?"

"Torchwood," Gwen said, simply. She leaned over, so she was face-to-face with him. He could feel her breath on his cheeks. "And I'm sorry about your friend, we're trying our hardest. Situations like these are always tough."

Clyde rolled his eyes. "Oy, I'm not like some traumatised standby kid here. Tell me what the hell's wrong with my friend and fix him. And you, in the suit, are ya even listenin'?" Ianto was bent over in the centre of the room, fingering one of Luke's drawings that had fallen.

"It's damp," Ianto analysed, peeling the paper off of the carpet and placing his hand on the fabricated floor. "Floor's damp, too," he said under his breath. "Paper must've fallen beforehand, then something got it damp."

"No shiz, Sherlock," Clyde grunted, but Ianto didn't appear to be listening.

* * *

Rani was preparing a tray of tea when she realised that something was dripping into her cup.

_Plop plop plop_

She gazed up at the ceiling to see a small pool of water on the wood. The stuff was gathering in a circle, grouping together until it splashed back into the teacup.

_Plop plop plop_

She grabbed for the reading glasses sitting on the counter next to her, and shoved them onto her face. Looking a bit closer, she could see small psychedelic patterns swirling in the silvery liquid. "Hey!" she shouted. "I think I found something!"

Jack barged into the room, alien scanner in hand. "What?" he snapped, impatiently.

Rani jabbed a finger at the ceiling. "Look!"

He did, frowning. "So you've got a leak."

Tapping a foot, Rani thumped herself on the forehead with the palm of her hand. "You idiot, that's not the roof. This is like, a three story house. Well, if you count the attic- look, what room's above this? Luke's!"

Finally seeming to get it, Jack lifted up the scanner and pressed a few buttons. He glanced at Rani.

"Why are you wearing Sarah Jane's glasses?" his voice sounded odd.

"I- sort of bad eyesight," Rani admitted. "Can you see the sort of... swirly stuff in it?"

"I'm analysing it right now," Jack huffed. "Ha!" then he frowned. "It's just water. Water and... oil." He whacked the device with the palm of his hand, his brow furrowing even deeper. He glanced back and forth sporadically between the device and the pool of water on the ceiling. "I'm getting readings of light... water... oil... poison?" he tapped his earpiece. "Tosh! I've got a sample of the poison, sending you the results... now!"

Rani craned her neck to hear the earpiece's response.

_"Got them. I'll do a quick reading. How's..." _her voice trailed off.

"Luke," Rani shouted into the Bluetooth. "His name is Luke."

_"Luke doing?"_ the woman on the other end finished.

"Fine, he's fallen asleep. We can't work out the cure until we get your readings, Tosh," Jack said.

_"I'll have them in a minute."_ the piece stopped glowing blue and Jack had just turned to go to the living room when it blipped back to life.

_"There's some of this... oil substance on the floor in Luke's room,"_ Ianto said. _"From what I gather from your conversation with Tosh, it's gone from the room to the kitchen. Like someone slipped through the floor and left footprints behind."_

Jack glanced at the boy lying on the couch nervously, then back at Sarah Jane. He didn't want to admit it, but he wasn't quite sure he could fix this.

Uttering a thank-you to Ianto and instructing him to search the room for any more clues, he approached the couch and plastered on a fake grin.

Rani knew it was fake.


	7. Chapter 7

# Toddler time 5 #

* * *

Sarah Jane sat next to Luke, a storybook open on her lap, but she wasn't reading it. Luke was sleeping, anyway.

Jack had informed her there was nothing they could do. Without knowing the alien species, they couldn't find a cure. All they could do was keep him comfortable.

Sarah Jane moved him back down to his bedroom after Gwen and Rani helped her straighten and clean up the mess in the room. Now she was sitting on the bed, wondering if her child would ever be his normal cheery inquisitive self again.

Jack knocked on the open door. Sarah Jane looked up. "Come in, Jack," she said.

"There is one other thing we haven't tried, Sarah Jane,"Jack replied.

"Which is?" Sarah Jane asked, smoothing a hand over Luke's forehead.

"The Doctor," Jack said.

Sarah Jane stood up, pacing the floor. "Jack, I would love if the Doctor could help Luke, I mean, I know he could, but how are we going to get hold of him?"

Jack held up his mobile. "Already done, he's on his way."

Sarah Jane looked at Jack. "Jack, I could kiss you," she said.

Jack grinned flirtatiously. "Well, don't hold back."

Sarah Jane rolled her eyes. "Settle for a hug instead."

Jack shrugged and nodded as the familiar sound of the TARDIS engines were heard overhead in the attic.

*line break*

The Doctor carefully laid Luke on a bed in the TARDIS sickbay and carefully ran the screwdriver over his injured arm. It was mottled red and swollen, as if someone had poured acid over it, which was probably what the alien saliva was.

The Doctor's two companions, Amy and Rory, entered the sickbay.

"Is there anything we can do to help?" Rory asked.

Amy looked at Luke, then at the Doctor. "Who is he?"

"The son of an old friend and companion," the Doctor said, straightening up. He knew exactly what sort of alien he was dealing with, and he knew the cure for it. "Amy, go downstairs and get a blue cooler. Rory, set up a transfusion," the Doctor said. He was going to give Luke some pints of his own blood.

There was only one minor downside or upside, depending on how you looked at it. Since Luke was a genetically engineered child, having Time Lord blood would affect him differently than if he had been a normal human. He would age at the same rate as Time Lord, twice as slow, but he wouldn't be able to regenerate.

* * *

Amy was tasked to sit with Luke. After the Doctor had given Luke some of his blood, it only took an hour and a half for it to take affect. His mother, Sarah Jane, who had come into the TARDIS just before they started, hadn't seemed surprised at his quick recovery, she just hugged him as if she would never let go.

Amy was curious about the little family. She wondered where Luke's Dad was and Sarah Jane, though striking, looked too old to have a child Luke's age, which she guessed to be four or five.

"Where's Mr. Smith?" Amy asked.

Sarah Jane knew she wasn't talking about her computer. "I'm not married, Luke's adopted," she said, not going into detail. It wasn't that she didn't trust the younger woman, it was just that explaining Luke was always difficult. She had a child who had been created by aliens, was born at the age of thirteen, only to be bitten by a different alien almost a year later and deaged eleven years.

The first few weeks after his adoption when he was still learning social skills and how to act, and if he did something that wasn't quite normal, like going up to complete strangers and asking random things or asking personal questions a bit too loudly, people would give Sarah Jane looks of amusement, pity, disgust, or sympathy. Apparently, they assumed there was something wrong with him mentally. One woman had actually asked Sarah Jane if Luke was "special" then proceeded to tell her about a school, before Sarah Jane interrupted by saying no, that there was nothing wrong with Luke, he was just sheltered.

That was the good thing about the deaging. Now, she could use his age as an excuse if he did something a bit odd.

She decided to tell Amy about Luke's true origin. "Actually, I haven't been entirely forthcoming," she said.

Amy looked interested. Sarah Jane spent the next ten minutes telling her about Luke.

She looked down at the little boy in her arms, her child, her Luke.


	8. Chapter 8

Epilogue.

AN: :)

* * *

The wind smells pink.

It's all sweet and sugary to her nostrils, and it disgusts Ann, because everything's all pretty and perfect for Luke. It's flowing in thin vessels of ribbony waves, and she can see and touch and smell every motion. The wind is pink to the touch, and yet it's invisible to the eye.

For Luke, at least.

Truth is, she can't get to Luke. Not now, probably not ever. He's surrounded by a mass of people who huddle together to help him when he's in need, and when he's been hurt. She can try to break their barricade, but it won't work. She's acting out of anger, barely a purpose, except that she's hungry.

Really hungry.

But he has a purpose. And so do the people surrounding him. They want him to be okay. They don't want him to just live life, they want him to experience it and everything around him, the quirks of nature and the quirks of his own. Luke Smith is growing up. Not as a normal child, but he is growing up.

And he has people who love him.

Ann's never had anyone who loved her. She didn't hatch from an egg, doesn't have parents or guardians or anyone who cares for her, because she's really just sort of an electrical accident. She's just there, just exists. Doesn't experience life, because she doesn't even manage to live it.

She watches Luke.

She watches him grow up, bloom, pale petals springing up in different colors like a magenta-shaded flower, the same color of the wind surrounding him, and she watches him live. She watches Sarah Jane die of old age and she watches him hold her hand when she goes. She watches him join Torchwood and do things with his life she can't possibly do. She watches him create ripples of peace over the world, and all the while, she watches him make people better.

Eventually, she expects to be found. No villain ever escapes, and no villain is ever happy. She isn't naive enough to believe that she'll get better sometime. And already, she's pining away, slowly dying.

Well, everyone's slowly dying.

But the wind around Luke still tastes pink.

And she suspects it always will.


End file.
